86 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMER. 



Feb. 



mangolds and hay in winter with bran mashes, 

 into which grains may be gradually introduced, 

 until, as she takes to them, she may at length 

 be treated as the others are. What this man- 

 agement is, I take from the statements of two 

 men, neither of them very large dairymen, but 

 both successful managers. Mr. Sumpton, of 

 Little Warner street, Clerkenwell, who usually 

 milks about thirty cows, describes his day's 

 work as follows : — 



The cowman enter the shed at 5 A. M. and 

 proceed to milk. In the case of the wholesale 

 milk trade, when the milkers who buy the milk 

 do the milking, one good man suffices for thir- 

 ty cows. The cowman then only helps if ne- 

 cessary, at milking time, and sees that the 

 work is thoroughly done — his main business 

 being to feed and tend the cows. If he has 

 any reason to suspect that a cow is not milked 

 out, it is his duty to his master to "strip" her, 

 for nothing injures a cow more than imperfect 

 milking ; and if he succeeds in getting another 

 half pint from her, his master will give him 6d. 

 or Is. for it, and line the dealer that amount 

 for his servant's default. When not only 

 milking, but serving the customers at shops 

 and houses has to be done, three men are re- 

 quired for thiity cows. They begin milking 

 at 4 A. M., and finish between 5 and 6. About 

 a bushel and a hall of grains is then given be- 

 tween each pair of cows, and they are partly 

 cleaned out, and when the grains are done, 

 a truss of hay (i cwt.) is divided amongst 12. 

 In the meantime the men have been serving 

 the milk ; after which they breakfast (about 8 

 A. M.). After breakfast time a bushel of 

 chopped mangolds, weighing 50 or GO pounds, 

 is given to each two cows, and the cows receive 

 another truss of hay among 12. The cow- 

 shed is then cleaned out, and the cows are 

 bedded and l.fc. At 1 P. M., milking com- 

 mences, and verv much the same feeding as 

 before, is given. At 2.30 grains are given as 

 before, followed by the same quantity of bay, 

 and then (and only then during the 24 hour.s) 

 the cows are freely watered. They again re- 

 ceive a truss of hay amongst 12, and are left 

 for the night. The grains are either brewers' 

 or distillers' grains ; the former sre as much 

 inferior to the latter in value as they are in 

 price — the one at present costing 3d and 4d a 

 bushel, and the other 8d and 9d. 



In the. case of cows in heavy milk — also in 

 the case of those rapidly losing their milk, 

 which must be sent to market as quickly as 

 possible — it is common to give two or three 

 quarts of pea-meal mixed up with the grains 

 morning and evening, each cow thus receiving 

 that quantity daily. And when the milking is 

 coming to an end, for three or four weeks be- 

 fore the cow is sold, she ipay receive two or 

 three pounds of oil cake in addition. A full 

 bushel of grains, half a bushel of mangolds, 

 one-third of a truss of hay, and live or six 

 pounds of pea meal in the case of the flatting 

 cow, are thus the daily ration in a London cow- 



house. The grains at 2s. a quarter, the hay 

 at £6 a ton, and the mangolds at 20s. a ton, 

 cost Is. 3d. a day, and with meal or cake the 

 daily allowance may cost from Is. 6d. to Is. 

 Od.per cow — 10s. to 12s. a week. 



In summer time the food is grass with grains, 

 and meal if necessary. Most cow keepers, ex- 

 cept the very smallest men, either have a small 

 suburban farm, or buy a few acres of vetches, 

 clover or grass, and cart it themselves. When 

 it is bought daily at the cow-house, it costs 

 from Is. to 13d. a cwt., during the summer, 

 and the cows receive about that quantity daily, 

 given to them as fast as they can eat it, morn- 

 ing and evening, with their grains. 



Of course the proper feeding of the cow 

 after she has been well bought is the very 

 essence of the business of the cow keeper. It 

 is a proof of good management when she is so 

 treated that no kind of food which she receives 

 shall pall upon her taste. The maxim is — 

 never "over-do" a cow with any kind of food. 

 Some cows are exceedingly greedy for distil- 

 lers' grains — they yield a very large quantity 

 of milk upon them-; but it is easy to over-do a 

 cow with grains, and she should be always 

 stinted of her favorite food, or she will get 

 sick of it, as I have seen often enough in the 

 case of this very article — distillers' grains. 



DOCTOEING SICK ANIMALS. 

 The following sensible advice on this sub- 

 ject is from the Illustrated Annual Register, 

 for 1869, published by Luther Tucker & Son, 

 Albany, N. Y. The article was written, we 

 presume, by J. J. Thomas, the editor of the 

 Register : — 



A fine horse, belonging to the writer, once 

 caught a bad cold, and was afflicted with an 

 obstinate and severe cough — that he could 

 sometimes be heard half a mile. The neigh- 

 bors were liberal with prescriptions ; and ashes, 

 blue vitriol, copperas, castor oil, turpentine, 

 glauber's salts, &c., were recommended in 

 large quantities. The owner concluded that 

 all these, if taken, would be quite enough to 

 kill the animal, and it; was therefore decided- 

 to give him nothing, and take good care of 

 him. In other words. Dr. Physic was dis- 

 missed and Dr. Nurse called in. It was early, 

 in autumn ; and a good clover lot furnished 

 all the food, which, being of this succulent 

 character, served somewhaS as an expectorant. 

 Special directions were given never to work 

 the horse enough to cause sweating, and to 

 blanket him carefully after working, or when- 

 ever the weather was cold. In short, every- 

 thing was done to prevent any further catching 

 cold, and to keep him at all times comfortable 

 — giving very moderate labor. In six weeks 

 he was perfectly well. Dr. Nurse provcil his 

 skill and eiiiciency in this case. If the animal 

 had been dosed, worked hard, and treated 



